Golf club travel bag

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed herein a travel bag for containing a golf bag and clubs therein formed of a fabric and rigid panel laminated structure. The travel bag includes a bottom having a rigid cap with one or more wheels for allowing the case to be rolled via the wheels. It includes a front side having first and second zipper covers for opening and providing access to internal respective shoe and clothing compartments. The front side has a further zipper closure for allowing the entire front section of the bag to be opened to gain access to the golf bag and clubs compartment. The top includes a handle, and the left side and bottom have laminated therein and L-shaped rigid panel to facilitate movement of the travel case in the fashion of a hand truck. The back, right and top sides have laminated therein rigid panels for providing, along with the L-shaped panel, protection for golf clubs stored within the bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of golf, and more particularly to atravel bag for containing and transporting golf clubs within a golf clubbag along with shoes and items of clothing.

A variety of golf club travel bags are known in the art. The travel bagsrange from thin nylon shells to hard cover cases. The thin nylon shellbags are desirable because they are light weight and easy to use.However, the thin nylon shell bags provide little, if any, protectionfor the golf clubs. The hard shell cases, on the other hand, provide agreat deal of protection for the clubs. In addition, the hard shellcases are capable of carrying accessory items such as shoes. Althoughpossessing many advantages, the hard shell cases are heavy and generallycumbersome to use and, thus, are less desirable.

Soft or padded shell cases have grown in popularity due to their lightweight construction and their ability to provide greater protection tothe golf clubs than the nylon shell bags. Like the hard shell cases, thesoft shell cases are also capable of carrying other items such as shoes.However, to carry other items such as shoes, the soft shell casesusually utilize outwardly extending pockets that tend to snare duringtransport and, thus, increase the likelihood that the soft shell caseswill tear.

One solution to the foregoing disadvantages is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,810,064 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Although thattravel bag can contain a golf bag and clubs, as well as shoes and somepossible clothing items, it is desirable to have a bag which can holdmore clothing items, and one which is of reduced susceptibility todamage of the contents when thrown and jostled about as occurs inairport and airline baggage handling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A golf club travel bag according to the present invention comprises anelongated bag of sufficient size to house golf clubs in a golf club bag,and has separate individual compartments for shoes and clothes andpreferably includes a rigid “L-” shaped insert which provides a “handtruck” type design for facilitating rolling the travel bag with itscontents, and further includes rigid inserts in most of the sides of thebag to further help protect the contents therein. The bottom of the bagincludes a rigid cap with wheels, and the bag includes a handle at theopposite end, all to facilitate pulling or pushing the travel bag muchlike one moves a conventional “hand cart”.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide an improved golf club travel bag.

An important feature of the present invention is a golf club travel baghaving a plurality of rigid inserts to help protect the contents of thebag.

Further objects and features of the present invention will become betterunderstood through a consideration of the following description taken inconjunction with the drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other objects and features of the invention will become betterunderstood through a consideration of the following description taken inconjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the travel bag,

FIG. 2 is a back view thereof,

FIGS. 3 and 4 are opposite side views,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are respective top and bottom views,

FIG. 7 is a first open view illustrating a shoe compartment and aclothes compartment opened for access,

FIG. 8 is a further open view with the front fully open to allow a golfbag with clubs therein to be placed within the travel bag, and

FIGS. 9-15 are schematic illustrations of the locations of rigid panelswithin the bag, with FIG. 11 particularly illustrating a rigid “L-”panel to provide a “hand truck” feature, and

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the bag.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings, and first to FIGS. 1-6, a golf club travelbag 10 is illustrated and includes a front side 12 (FIG. 1), back side14 (FIG. 2), right 16 (FIG. 3) and left 18 (FIG. 4) sides, and top 20(FIG. 5) and bottom 22 (FIG. 6) sides. A majority of the travel bag is alaminated structure, and which will be discussed in further detaillater, like shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 16 with an outerfabric layer 24 such as Tricot material, an innermost fabric layer 25such as 1800 Ramie polyester, foam layers 26 typically about 6 mm densefoam laminated to the respective outer 24 and inner 25 layers, and aninner rigid layer 27 such as a suitable polypropylene plastic ofapproximately {fraction (1/16)}-⅛ inch thick, but can be of any suitablethickness to provide the desired protection to the golf bag and clubs.

The front side 12 includes a cover 30 openable via a zipper 31 to form ashoe compartment 32 (FIG. 7), and a cover 34 openable via a zipper 35 toprovide access to an internal clothes compartment 36 (FIG. 7) havingsuitable straps 37 to help retain clothes in place therein. The internalclothing or luggage compartment 36 obviates the problem with priortravel bags that have external compartments that tend to get snagged.The cover 34 also has a zipper compartment behind the outer surface ofthe cover 34 accessible via a zipper 38 within which smaller items canbe placed. The left side 18 further has a rounded compartment 40 withinwhich further clothing or other items can be placed by access through azipper 41.

The entire front side 12 can be opened via a zipper 46 to provide accessto a golf bag and clubs compartment 48 as seen in FIG. 8. A belt strap49 is provided within compartment 48 to secure a golf bag (not shown)within the compartment 48.

The right side 16 of the travel bag 10 includes several handles, such ashandles 50, 51 and 52. The bottom 22 comprises a rigid plastic cap 56 towhich the sides 12, 14, 16 and 18 are suitably affixed. The cap 56preferably includes pair of wheels 57, 58 via which the travel bag 10can easily be rolled about, and a pair of feet 59 and 60 (note FIG. 6).Suitable hooks 54 can be provided on the right side 16 (FIG. 3) to allowa strap (not shown) to be attached to the hooks for facilitatingcarrying the travel bag 10. A name tag holder 55 (FIGS. 2 and 4) can beprovided.

The back side 14 (FIG. 2) of the travel bag 10 includes a pair of skids64 and 65 via which the travel bag can be slid, as into an airlineluggage compartment. Of particular importance in facilitating moving thebag on the wheels 57 and 58 is the provisions of an “L” shaped rigidpanel 68 (D) as seen in FIGS. 9, 10, 11, 13 and 15 within the lower backside 14 and bottom 22 of the travel bag 10. This rigid section 68 is asingle “L” shaped plastic piece like 27 shown in FIG. 16, and along withthe wheels 57 and 58 and the top handle 50 allow the travel bag to berotated back onto the wheels 57 and 58 (that is, rotatedcounterclockwise as seen in FIG. 3 or clockwise as seen in FIG. 4) toallow the travel bag 10 to be moved much like one moves a conventionalhand truck.

As noted earlier, most of the sides and top of the travel bag areprotected by an internal laminated rigid panel sections 27. Such rigidpanels are not needed on the front side 12 (note FIG. 9) because theshoe compartment 32 and clothing or luggage 36 compartment and thecontents therein provide sufficient padding and protection for the golfclubs and golf bag (not shown) stored in the golf bag/clubs compartment48. The panels are fixed stationary hard panels which are sandwichedbetween foam 26 and fabric 24,25 and are not removable. The specificlocations and configurations of the panels 27 are identified by lettersA through I in FIGS. 9-15. The panel C in FIGS. 11, 12, and 15illustrates the back panel of the shoe pocket 32.

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf club and golf bag travel carrying casecomprising an elongated case of laminated material comprising a front,back, right and left sides, top and bottom, the bottom having a rigidcap with one or more wheels thereon for allowing the case to be rolledvia the wheels, the left side and bottom have laminated therein anL-shaped rigid panel to facilitate movement of the travel case in thefashion of a hand truck, the back, right and top sides have laminatedtherein rigid panels for providing, along with the L-shaped panel,protection for golf clubs that can be stored within the case, and thefront side having first and second zipper covers for opening andproviding access to internal respective shoe and clothing compartments,the front side having a further zipper closure for allowing the entirefront section of the case to be opened to gain access to a golf bag andclubs compartment.
 2. A case as in claim 1 wherein the top includes ahandle, and the case comprises a laminated structure of an outer fabric,foam layer, rigid panels in those areas in which the rigid panel exist,foam layer and inner fabric layer.
 3. A case as in claim 1 wherein theback side includes skids for facilitating movement of the travelcarrying case into and from a container such as an airline luggagecompartment.
 4. A case as in claim 1 wherein the front side has afurther zipper closure area for providing access to items placed in afurther compartment.
 5. A case as in claim 1 wherein one of the rightand left sides includes a further storage compartment accessible via aseparate opening.
 6. A case as in claim 1 wherein the clothingcompartment includes retaining straps for facilitating retention ofclothing therein.
 7. A case as in claim 1 wherein the golf bag and clubscompartment includes a strap for retaining a golf bag therein.
 8. A golfclub and golf bag travel carrying case comprising an elongated case oflaminated material comprising a front, back, right and left sides, topand bottom, the bottom having a rigid cap with one or more wheelsthereon for allowing the case to be rolled via the wheels, the frontside having first and second zipper covers for opening and providingaccess to internal respective shoe and clothing compartments, the frontside having a further zipper closure for allowing the entire frontsection of the case to be opened to gain access to a golf bag and clubscompartment, and the top including a handle, and the left side andbottom having laminated therein an L-shaped rigid panel to facilitatemovement of the travel case in the fashion of a hand truck, and whereinthe back, right and top sides have laminated therein rigid panels forproviding, along with the L-shaped panel protection for golf clubs thatcan be stored within the case.
 9. A case as in claim 8 wherein the casecomprises a laminated structure of an outer fabric, foam layer, rigidpanels, foam layer and inner fabric layer.
 10. A golf club and golf bagtravel carrying case comprising an elongated case of laminated materialcomprising a front, back, right and left sides, top and bottom, thelaminated material comprising an outer fabric, foam layer, rigid panelsin certain areas, foam layer and inner fabric layer, the bottom having arigid cap with one or more wheels thereon for allowing the case to berolled via the wheels, the front side having first and second zippercovers for opening and providing access to internal respective shoe andclothing compartments, the front side having a further zipper closurefor allowing the entire front section of the case to be opened to gainaccess to a golf bag and clubs compartment, the top including a handle,the left side and bottom having laminated therein an L-shaped rigidpanel to facilitate movement of the travel case in the fashion of a handtruck, the rigid panels in certain areas comprising laminated rigidpanels in the back, right and top sides for providing, along with theL-shaped panel, protection for golf clubs that can be stored within thecase.
 11. A golf club and gold bag travel carrying case comprising anelongated case of laminated material comprising a front, back right andleft sides, top and bottom, the bottom having one or more wheels thereonfor allowing the case to be rolled via the wheels, the front side havingfirst and second openable covers for opening and providing access tointernal respective shoe and clothing compartments, the front having afurther openable closure for allowing the entire front section of thecase to be opened to gain access to a golf bag and clubs compartment,the top including a handle, and the left side and bottom havinglaminated therein an L-shaped rigid panel to facilitate movement of thetravel case in the fashion of a hand truck, and the back, right and topsides having laminated therein rigid panels for providing, along withthe L-shaped panel protection for golf clubs that can be stored withinthe case.
 12. A case as in claim 11 comprising a laminated structure ofan outer fabric, foam layer, rigid panels in those areas in which therigid panel exists, foam layer and inner fabric layer.
 13. A case as inclaim 12 wherein the front side has a further zipper closure area forproviding access to items placed in a further compartment.